Ganging Up On the Sun
by GigliwasCool
Summary: A family vacation strikes the VenturiMcDonald household, submerging everyone in the golden sun. Will its rays shed light or just burn them? [Loosely based to Guster song. Dasey.]
1. Barrel of a Gun

Hi everyone! I've been reading _Life with Derek_ fics for a while now but this is my first attempt at writing one. I had this idea rolling around in my head since I first saw the show and finally I just sat down to write it. The story itself is few scenes from a family vacation, I was thinking like 3 days into it, but there flashbacks of earlier dates in italics. Thoughts are also in italics and stressed words are in bold.

I set a line from a Guster song at the beginning of each chapter, subsequently I'll name each chapter after the particular song. None of the songs really tie into the story, or the chapters, at all but I liked the particular lyrics lol. Anywho, I really hope you guys like it! And really hope you review, _hint hint, _**wink wink **lol.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Life with Derek_ (and I _really _don't own Michael Seater) or anything else.

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Chapter 1: _Amsterdam_

**"She comes from far away,  
gets closer everyday."**

Falling into step with Lizzie and Edwin, Casey lent down inconspicuously, wanting to catch bits of their conversation that held a certain air of conspiracy. They were always huddling, emitting the most hushed of whispers and only lifting their eyes to shoot out irritated glares.

Casey suddenly felt her younger stepbrother's glare boring her from the other side of Lizzie. She sighed heartily, letting it hitch in her throat loudly before she blew the gust of air from her lips. It wasn't like she was actually going to tell anyone what they were talking about. She was just bored, looking for someone to talk to. Marti tugged at the hem of Casey's shirt, bobbing up and down excitedly. "I wanna press the button! I wanna press the button!" She demanded happily. Casey gave her a wide grin before wrapping an arm around the small girl's torso and hoisting her up to press the elevator button. Marti clapped gleefully as the arrow illuminated from the wall. Looking up at Casey with a devilish grin, inherently similar to her brother's, and jammed her finger into the button, pressing it a few more times for good measure.

**.:o:. **

_"We're taking a family on vacation!" Nora exclaimed excitedly, setting the pan of eggs in front of Derek while Casey munched on her cereal and Edwin and Lizzie battled over a granola bar. _

_"Paper covers rock." Lizzie argued. "But the rock can crinkle the paper. Rendering it useless." Edwin threw back, yanking the bar towards his chest more persistently. "You can still use it." Lizzie rebutted, paired with a look at her stepbrother as if he were stupid, planting another hand over the wrapper and tromping her foot backwards to gain ground. _

_A sudden gasp sounded through the kitchen indignantly as the small pattering of steps quickly followed. "You stepped on Daphne!" Marti wailed a few feet away from Lizzie while she fell to the floor to cradle an armful of air near her stepsister's foot. "You killed her!" Marti shouted tearfully, fixing Lizzie with a determined glare. Casey couldn't help but snort, recognizing the same glare that adorned Derek's face occasionally. Ok, more than occasionally. A lot of the time. The small girl reached for her fairy wand, standing up to point at Lizzie ominously. "**Disappear!**" She chanted, bringing the strip of plastic behind her head before striking it down against Lizzie's arm viciously. Unlatching a formerly firm hold on her breakfast, Lizzie's hands flung out to nurse her bruising arm. "Hey, cool." Edwin muttered to himself as he stumbled backwards with the granola bar resolutely in his grasp. _

_Clearing his throat over Lizzie's pronouncements of pain, feeling the eggs shuffle in his mouth, Derek looked between his father and his step mom. "What family?" He asked through his mouthful, letting the bright yellow of the yolk fall to the counter top. Derek sloppily mopped his chin before moving his hand in empty circles against the table, making no efforts to actually clean anything. "Derek," his father warned, exasperation evident in his tone. His son's eyes widened with his jaw slapped open, but still positioned to crib the eggs between his teeth, and he shrugged innocently as if he had said nothing at all. "We're going to the beach!" Nora explained with an ecstatic beam, her white teeth gleaming from her open smile. "Great." Casey breathed, as she huffed out a sigh. Feeling her breath tickle his neck and sending a ripple down his spine, Derek shoved the pan against the sanded wood of the counter before popping his collar indignantly._

**.:o:.**

Setting her stepsister on the ground again, Casey absently brushed off a few droplets of water that had mingled together on her collarbone. The soft wetness under her fingers fell away at her touch so she pressed her hands against the fabric of her shorts to wipe it away. Feeling sand against them, she sweepingly flounced the grains off her legs but stopped when she suddenly felt a pair of eyes on her.

Looking over at her mom, Casey expected to get shoved with an armful of Marti's bright orange noodles that were disgustingly riddled with her and Derek's bite marks. But she saw that Nora was ruffling Marti's hair lovingly as the little girl squirmed in her wet clothes. Casey turned to Lizzie but found that she was still deep in conversation with Edwin; spinning around to look behind her, her gaze met a piercingly dark stare that was ornamented with a small smirk.

Her eyes remained locked with his for a chilling moment that sent shivers coursing down her spine; drove sparks through her veins; and ignited her skin. But with a shake of her head Casey broke the trance and found herself watching Derek, who was watching her as a girl giggled beside him. She breezily quelled a flash that struck her from the pit of her stomach, shooting off through her whole body, repressed the blaze in her eyes and turned away.

Waiting for the elevator to meet them, Nora stood on her tiptoes and peered over each head as she silently counted. Before she could finish, the doors slipped open and prompted the McDonald-Venturi clan to pile inside. Feet shuffled slowly and awkwardly before everyone was securely inside. Standing next to her husband, Nora regained her elevated position to survey her children. _Edwin, Lizzie, Casey, Marti…_she ticked off silently, realizing she had come up one short. "There are only four, we're missing one." She told George, who had been nodding off slightly, his poster slacked and his head resting against the scuffed mirror at the fond of the elevator.

**.:o:.**

_Casey's smile shone brightly from over her glass of orange juice while Derek found it hard to put one foot in front of the other. He forcefully plunked himself down across from her and lethargically reached for the box of cereal inches away from him. Not finding any energy to muster to make a trip for milk, or a spoon, or a bowl, Derek titled the box to his lips and lightly shook the contents into his mouth. _

_"Could you be any more disgusting?" Casey asked him. Shoving the box from his face, he waited for her perfunctory eye roll and scoff but he was merely met with an unwavering smile. "I don't know. Could you be anymore **chipper**?" He asked her glumly and wiping the reminiscent sleep from his eyes. "Dude, it's almost noon. Stop being so dramatic." Edwin berated his older brother as stepped into the kitchen. Derek shot his head towards Edwin, throwing a menacing look that all but sent shuddering tremors through his younger brother. "Shut up Ed-**weirdo**." Derek taunted as he flung a Fruit Loop across the room. _

_"Go' morning!" Marti shouted as she tromped down the stairs. Casey looked down at her stepsister, seeing a pair of fish eyes staring back. "Morning Marti." Casey greeted her with a smile, chuckling slightly as the little girl struggled with the goggles that were over her eyes. "Smerek they're **too tight**!" She yelled, sloppily running towards him before jumping up into his lap and forcing herself into the chair with him. Who said she didn't know how to share? _

_"I'll fix 'em Smarti." He reassured her, grasping the neon green strap and pulling it closer to his sister's head. "Better?" He asked tentatively, circling his head around to look at her. "**Tighter!**" She demanded, her spit lightly sprinkling his face. "Tighter it is." He muttered to himself, pulling a hand to wipe his face while the other fumbled with the goggles again. "Better now?" He asked, leaving himself out of her spitting range. Marti wiggled her head, the ends of her hair whipping his face, making sure they didn't shift as an appeased smile spread across her face. "Yes, Smerek. Thank you!" She cried happily, turning around on his legs to face him and planting a wet kiss on his cheek. "No problem Marti." He grunted out as she disentangled herself from his lap. Derek watched Marti run off in search for the matching fish flippers, stomping through the kitchen and clumsy with excitement as an affectionate grin graced his features. He looked up to see Casey watching him, her smile softening._

**.:o:.**

Her arm flung against his chest, waking him with a start from his reverie. George let out a soft _'nnn' _grunt, shaking his head and wiping his face tiredly. "What?" He asked more animatedly. "We're missing one, Georgie."

"Which one?" He asked, anxiety creeping in his tone. Nora looked over the group again, before inhaling tiredly. "Derek." The two parents said in unison. "I think I saw him with that reception chick." Edwin offered; he and Lizzie had been waiting for them to realize Derek was missing so the two were listening to their respective parents' conversation. Sharing a sigh with her husband, Nora looked to her eldest daughter with a winning smile. "Casey, could you get out on the next floor and go get him?" She looked at her mother, with an astounded look.

_Why would she even think I would, **ever**, agree? _Casey thought to herself, tempted to giggle at her mother's request.

The feeling soon ebbed away when she realized Nora had been completely serious. Casey let out an indignant scoff, her head falling forward slightly in sheer astonishment. "No." She refused simply.

"Please, Case." Nora almost pleaded; the day at the beach had spent her clean and she was too tired to fight. "No way, mom. I won't do it."

"Twenty bucks." Nora prodded, cocking her eyebrow lightly. Casey seemed to consider it for a moment, licking her lips in contemplation. "Twenty bucks, plus reprieve from babysitting for… a _month_." George's eyes flew between the mother and daughter, feeling as though he were watching a tennis match. Nora modified the terms once more before Casey finally settled.

"Deal." She pronounced and spun away from her mom to face the buttons. Looking up to see what floor they had already reached, Casey reached out to press the unlit _14. _She drummed her fingers against the wall expectantly but when the soft tapping noise met her ears irritatingly, she crossed her arms over her chest. From the opposite corner of the elevator, Marti leapt towards her. "I wanna press one!" She demanded and roughly gripped her hips in protest. "Maybe later, Marti." George suggested lightly as the doors opened for his stepdaughter.

Just as Casey stepped out, she watched Marti gleefully disobey as she ran her hands against each button rancorously and illuminated every floor between one and twenty-six. Secretly laughing to herself as George and Nora groaned loudly, Casey waved towards them with a grin as the door slipped together and closed them in again. She absently tapped her foot to a non-existent beat as she waited for the next elevator to creak down the shaft to meet her.

**.:o:.**

_Settling into the designated gate, Casey slumped into a chair and set Marti down in the one next to her. Lizzie leaned across the youngest Venturi, who was clawing her leg because her 'kitty paws were itchy', and threw a stick of gum to Casey. "Thanks," she muttered gratefully to her sister, already tensing at the prospect of the long flight. _

_Placing the spine of her book along her nervously jittering legs and snapping her gum fretfully, Casey succeed only in attracting Derek's unwanted teasing. "Scared?" He whispered after swiftly parking himself in the chair next to hers and dipping his lips to her ear as he leaned across the cold metal of the armrest that separated the two. A foreign tremble shook her lightly; her breathing picked up a faster, uneven tempo while her lungs burned and swelled for more air; her face flushed a deep scarlet, the crimson seeping all the way to her hairline; her skin refused to cool and heated as if a fire roared beneath it. Casey contemplated pinching herself, wondering if it was some kind of sick but lucid dream. It was reality. _

_"Don't you have a pair of legs to busy yourself with?" Casey snapped out, throwing her attention out the encompassing windows to watch a plane, which seemed to engulf and occupy the all the Heavens, land with a thundering and rumbling grace. "Ouch," he burred out, placing a hand over his proverbial wound before continuing his barrage "don't worry, the take-off is the worst. Unless there's turbulence in the air." He informed her as if she had been living in a hole her entire life, missing any opportunity to board an airplane. But her anxiety clouted her better judgment as she played right into his underhanded ploy and looked to him with wide, wary eyes. She stuttered out a few words, tumbling over the 'what's and the 'how's and the 'when's; but Derek rushed to clear any confusion. "Well, if it's **really** bad, most people just start praying." He said with a sneaking laugh. _

_Derek shook with silent laughter, grasping for hushed breaths, while Casey sat before him with a slacked jaw and tearful eyes. But he suddenly sucked his lungs dry of any oxygen as his stepsister's gasp was stifled abruptly by the thoroughly gnawed piece of gum that lodged itself in the back of her throat and strung strangled and failed breaths of air from her lips. _

_Falling to his knees in front of her chair, he searched her eyes. She blinked them furiously, pressing the involuntary tears across her newly wetted lashes. "Casey?" He called tentatively, his voice cautious with concern. Her silent huffs for air persisted as Lizzie dropped next to Derek, watching her sister with worry. Casey frantically batted her hands against the solid metal of her armrests and popped up and down out of her seat, struggling for a breath. _

_"**Casey**." Derek demanded with his voice deeply husked in concern, before positioning himself to pull her up and force the gum out himself. Moments later, sputtering and coughing flew from her mouth as the gum shot back between her teeth. Lizzie let out a sigh of relief only to be drowned out by Derek's gasp of calmed thankfulness. But just as suddenly as she recovered, Casey stilled herself and fixed Derek with a stare of unbridled rage. Before he could register her innate anger Casey had taken her hand and beat it against Derek's cheek with a crackle. The howl of her violent slap pierced the still air that had been shocked into silence as his face immediately flushed a livid crimson. _

_"What was **that **for?" He shouted irately, clasping a hand to his bruising cheek and babying it tenderly. Springing up on her feet and coming nose-to-nose with him, Casey flushed angrily. "You made me do that, you …**ass**!" Casey shouted back sputtering over an adequate insult as Nora and George finally took notice. They stalked over to diffuse the fast approaching brawl, not waiting for either side of the story. "Derek, **stop **pestering. I don't know how many times I have to tell you!" George reprimanded irritably, toying with the idea of grabbing his son by the ear and dragging him to Time Out. _

_"Casey, honey, are you ok?" Nora cooed, gently smoothing a hand over her eldest daughter's back reassuringly. Everyone seemed to ignore Derek's indignant scoff and bruised cheek, where a handprint so perfectly mangled his skin that someone could trace the palm's contours. Casey nodded to her mother without protest to the contrary before reaching down for her bag that sat idly next to Derek's foot. She snatched it up furiously, throwing him a scathing glare, before stomping away to sit in the row opposite him. _

_Watching Derek fumble in his bag until he found his I-pod, Casey carelessly threw her old gum out and looked to Lizzie for another piece. Popping the sugary watermelon gum in her mouth, she continued to observe Derek. His brow furrowed in concentration as he searched for a song; his foot thumped against the ground to the otherwise silent beat; his fingers tapped against the metal armrest perfectly in time with his feet. Smiling in spite of herself, Casey turned back to her book without paying any attention to the words in front of her eyes while her mind toyed with thoughts of Derek._

_ Soundless minutes passed as the rest of the airport buzzed with boarding, arriving, leaving, delayed and cancelled flights before Derek looked up from his I-pod. A song blaring in his ears, he looked over to the row across from him and watched a grin unmistakably play across Casey's lips as she gave a small pop of her bubble gum, her eyes dutifully glued to the book on her lap._

**.:o:. **

The smell of summer rolled through the lobby while the wind, heaped with the lingering salt of the beach, whipped and nipped at Derek lightly from the open doors. Staring at her forehead, the deeply red carpet distracted his peripheral vision while its gold accents mingled with the crimson. Counting the number of tiles in the ceiling had become outstandingly redundant in the short time he had been talking with…_what was her name again? _Derek questioned himself lightly as the girl before him chatted on about how all shampoos dry her hair out and that she thanks _'Gawd' _for conditioner every time she steps in the shower.

He found himself picturing her in the shower for a millisecond before searching out the nametag that was stitched into her shirt, next to the hotel's logo. _Heather,_ withReception printed in perfect lettering beneath it,passed in front of his eyes for a moment. Just as he mentally repeated it to himself, it was forgotten.

He wasn't always so bad with names, in fact he never was. He remembered all the ones from July; there was _Information-Kiosk Girl _from the mall that one day, _Ice Cream Shop Girl _from the date he had been on with _Dog Walking Girl. _There was _Movie Rental Girl_ from when he had gone to pick out a movie for his date with _Driver's Ed. Girl_. And just as he tallied them all, he silently added _Front Desk Girl_. Sure, it was a little presuming but he earned the right to be presumptuously bold after all incessant chatter had already endured.

He looked away from _Front Desk Girl _for a moment only to see Casey pop out of the elevator and scan the room. He assumed she was looking for him, so he dipped his head back towards the redhead in front of him until he felt her eyes on him. He smirked more deeply as _Front Desk Girl_ reached out, flitting her touch across his arm.

Derek lightly noted that it merely felt like a bug was crawling across his skin as he subdued the urge to swat it away. He blatantly refused to let himself remember how another girl's touch had emblazoned his skin, sending him across an unfamiliar edge. No, he wasn't going to think about _that_ certain girl; he wasn't going to think about her even as she made her way across the lobby towards him.

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Ok, I couldn't resist another note at the end here. I'm trying to think of something that would give it purpose...hmmm, I've got nothing. But please tell me what you think, I'm honestly so addicted to feedback that it's unreal. Oh, and I promise some actually Derek/Casey interaction in the next chapter, I just wanted to set up the situation first.


	2. Fa Fa

Ok before I go all excuse-y on you guys, I really have to thank you for the wonderful reviews! I love feedback so much and I'm so estatic to hear that you liked it! Anywho, I am _really _sorry it took me so long with this chapter. I was debating with another flashback and then school crept up...meh. I miss summer.

I added a little bit of Lizzie and Edwin in this chapter, nothing really romantic just more brother-sister thing, only ones who get along. I don't actually get along with my siblings, anywhere but I'd like to believe that I will someday hehe. Flashbacks are still in italics, thoughts during flashbacks are unitalized and stressed words in bold.

Oh and, because I'm so dim-witted sometimes I misnamed the first chapter and the lyrics. The lyrics from last chapter were from _Barrel of a Gun _not whatever I said..._Amsterdam_. I tripled checked these lyrics so I promise no more fumbles. Anywho relax, read, review. No particular order :o)

**Disclaimer**: Believe me when I say, I own nothing.

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Chapter 2: _Fa Fa_

**"You were always saying something **

**Swear you'd never say again."**

**.:o:.**

Casey watched as the sinking sun poured its rays in through the windowed walls, prompting her to shield her eyes with a cupped hand. She saw palm trees basking idly at a close distance, their engulfing leaves swaying with the lightly salted wind while the peeling trunks anchored the tropically fruited branches firmly in the ground. Screaming kids, (adorned with bright orange floaties either attached to arms or swatting viciously at siblings), exhausted parents (weighed down with all the rafts no one ever really wanted once they go to the beach) and frazzled staff (who scurried to meet the outrageous and simplistic demands of guests on an array of floors) hustled through the lobby while she lightly recognized that evening was falling and soon the balmy cover of night would blanket over the exotic island. The prospect of soft nights that would usher in another day she could finally relax in the repose, she had so diligently earned through the school year, made Casey smile contentedly to herself.

But just as the corners of her mouth upturned pleasantly she felt them falter, a slight annoyance tugging at her lips. Her gaze involuntarily fell to Derek who seemed deep in conversation with carroty variation on his contrite, insipid, bimbo preference. Casey watched him smirk outwardly while the redhead's hand flitted across his bare forearm. She sighed again, trudging forwards, unhurriedly making her way towards the pair. She snuck behind Derek's back, tiptoeing despite the crowded and chattering lobby. She just liked the effect. Skillfully dodging a remote control car that raced through the lobby, Casey listened as a tiredly parental voice followed closely behind it. She sidled mere inches away from her stepbrother, her fingers dancing along the hem of his collar, her nails grazing his neck lightly. The soft skin ignited the tips her fingers, blazing them while the fire spread across the rest of her body.Casey quickly let her limb drop to her side, wiping her hand on the fabric of her shorts and effortlessly ignoring the pettiness of her actions.

**.:o:.**

_Packed in between Edwin (who had wanted to sit next to Derek and took to pouting and sighing loudly in her ear for the first hour of the flight) and Marti, (who crawled around the narrow aisles and claiming that cats 'don't like to sit still' and sporadically meowing her other ear) Casey smashed each of her elbows to her sides as she peered down the spine of her novel in search of her bookmark. She grunted in irritation when more than ten pieces of paper fell from her book. "**Derek!**" She almost screamed, but remembered the uptight flight attendant that seemed keener to greet Derek onto the flight than she, and shot him the evil eye. He played off his innocence with a flash of his clean palms and an '**aw shucks' **shrug but half expecting her to jump up and throttle him to death. Hearing the outburst, George poked his head from behind his son, attempting fix Derek with a stern look while his face was smashed against the blue fabric of the seats. "What did you do now?" He asked on an exasperated sigh. _

_George remembered his and Nora's debate to leave Derek and Casey at home alone to argue, for a respite from the angry outbursts and unrelenting teasing. Scenarios of no-holds-bar brawls and untamed fits had flashed through his conscience as Nora forcefully voiced her wishes against having to 'visit her daughter in a female penitentiary'. _

_He lifted himself lightly to look over at Casey from his seat who was furiously whipping through scraps of paper. Her face grew increasingly red with unvoiced rage every passing second. "This is unbelievable! A script for Klutzialla versus…" Casey trailed off as she searched for the next slip of paper "The Androids?" She nearly screeched, hoisting the paper above her head angrily before crushing it in her palms and throwing it to the floor of the plane. She let out a strangled cry of frustration as Derek and Edwin laughed themselves silly. "Oh don't worry Casey, you'll still be the only princess on set. 'Droids aren't normally nobility." Derek assured her laughingly through gasps for air. "You are the most insensitive, arrogant, pompous…" Casey stuttered over her words with anger, feeling her face flush an irate red, "stupid jerk!" She ground out through clenched teeth and wrenched her seatbelt open before stomping back towards the bathroom._

_Feeling his smirk firmly in place, Derek felt himself watching her walk away and thoroughly appreciating the view. He watched as her hips swayed skillfully, dodging the other passengers in their seats, until he had hoisted himself on his knees on the cushion of his chair to catch a last fleeting glance at her. "What's the matter Derek? Sore?" George asked him, his eyes dancing from his son to the article in front of him. _

_"No, just, uh…jumpy, a sugar rush. Probably from Edwin's grape juice." Derek said absently, shaking himself of his foolishness and plopping securely in his seat again. "**Hey!**" Edwin protested, realizing that his cup was in fact empty and shook it at Derek incredulously. "How did you even do that?" Lizzie asked, in half awe and half apathy. "It's a secret." He told her slyly before turning back to his music. _

_Half an album passed by and Casey still hadn't returned. As little as he would have liked to admit it, he hadn't paid any attention the music that blasted in his ears or the magazine in front of his eyes as his thoughts unabashedly revolved around Casey. _

_"I have to pee." Derek announced, tearing his eyes away from the fluff of frosty clouds outside his window, and unlatching the metal of his seatbelt. "Thanks for the broadcast," George sarcastically thanked him without looking up from his magazine. "Anytime, Daddy." Derek breathed as he stepped out into the aisle._

**.:o:.**

He had known she was coming, like it was an instinct or an internal radar. Or a sixth sense. Derek lightly noted to himself that he would much rather see dead people than have the uncanny ability to know when his stepsister approached him. But he would trade anything to able to quell the flashes of excited anticipation the sparked through his system when she was near. Lost in thought, he nearly jumped out his skin when her fingers had danced across his exposed neck. His smirk intensified glimmering through his face and rooting in his eyes just as he turned to face her.

She watched him turn from Lindsay Lohan's long lost twin, the smirk still playing on his lips while it similarly danced in his eyes. As soon as he took her in, the corners of his mouth tugged further, revealing the small sparkle of his teeth. "What can I do for you Case?" He drawled out while he watched her shift uncomfortably. "There is _nothing_ you can do for _me, _**Der**, but you dad is looking for you." She snapped at him, watching the smirk permanently carve itself across his face. "Oh, I'm sure there's, _something_ I can do for you Casey." He drawled out his double-entendre easily, as if he had _done something for her_ countless times before, letting a hand slither across on of her bare arms.

Feeling goose bumps spring to her skin at his touch, she quickly swatted his hand away with a glare. She looked past Derek and turned to his flavor-of-the-moment with a sickly sweet grin. "Der has to go now. But don't worry; he'll call you …_once_. Go out with you…_once_. But after that, he'll be pretty scarce." Casey told her watching the redhead stare back at her stupidly as if she hadn't understood a word of Casey's warning. "That's not…it isn't, _true_." Derek sputtered gesturing his hands through the air spastically as if to draw out his explanation on a non-existent canvas, tumbling over his words before throwing a scornful stare at his stepsister. Casey let a snort of disbelief loose, feeling it ring inside her nose painfully, while Derek just continued to throw his stepsister his perfected Evil Eye. Staring at her for a moment longer than she wanted him to, Derek saw her eyes spark flashes of green jealousy.

Her posture led him to only conclude that she her elastic was two seconds from snapping and she was going let loose and mercilessly pounced on him like a tiger in the ruthless jungle. But instead he watched a Zen calm wash over Casey's face as her chest heaved up with a giant inhale. She only drew more of his attention to her chest as she crossed her arms over it irritably, leaving him with nothing else to look at. "**Yes**, it is." She rebutted, shoving her side into Derek's viciously. The glaze over his eyes melted away, lifting the haze it had cast over him as he stumbled sideways and into a passing businessman.

She watched with satisfaction as his eyes widened, his nostrils flared, and his jaw dropped. He clasped his hand around Casey's wrist and dragged her back towards the elevator. Without looking at her, he stuttered an awkward goodbye rushing and tumbling over his words; his feet followed suit, making him trip over the carpet that lay across the floor at, what had once been, a perfected angle that his feet ruined. Reaching the elevator and harshly pushing the _Up _arrow more times than necessary, his hand remained plastered to her soft skin and neither sounded any protest. Derek silently wondered why she had been so relentless. He was beginning to think that she was starting to take a few pages out of his own book. And though he would never admit it, he found it twistedly intriguing.

**.:o:.**

_"Hi, I'm Jack. Like Jack Bauer." A lazy voice came over the mundane roar of the engine from behind her, prompting Casey to spin around and greet the face it belonged to. She watched a pair of half-lidded eyes, dirty blonde hair brushing against them, stare back at her and a palm out for her to grasp. Subconsciously pattering away from him to take in a longer view, Casey saw his tall frame lankly reclined against the back of an unoccupied seat. Inconspicuously well-defined arms hung out of baggy sleeves of a shirt that undoubtedly hid washboard, surfer abs. His languidly crossed legs, parted faintly at the knees, hung out into the aisle while a pair of generic sandals clasped his feet inside. An unhurried demeanor and a languorously breezy and effortlessly genuine smile swept in front of her. She stopped herself before mentally placing a ski cap on top of his overly mussed hair and calling him 'Sam'. _

_"I don't get it…" Casey said with a slightly slacked jaw, shaking her head in incomprehension. "Like the show." Jack elaborated, but no sparks of understanding lit in her head so she merely shook it again. "Nevermind." He told her with a slightly unnerved chuckle and retracted his hand when he figured she wasn't going to shake it. She turned away, not giving him a second thought. Feeling a sudden tiredness fall over her, Casey's eyes slipped closed peacefully but she was shaken from her light daze moments later. "So…you come here often?" _

_Her eyes filed open like the ricocheting elastic that suspended blinds against a window and looking at him seriously, Casey only saw an easy smile through his face. "Lines for an airplane bathroom?" Casey asked for mere clarification as she jabbed her thumb towards the line in front of them. Turning back to see a slight nod of confirmation Casey shook her head as if he were stupid. "Uh, no… I don't come **here** often." She said, lacing the subtlest hints of venom in her voice. She was in no mood to deal with anyone. Derek had crawled and wedged so deeply under her skin that she couldn't shake him if she tried. If she was being honest with herself, she had never really tired. But she pretended to though. And it's the thought that counts. _Or is that only Christmas presents? _Casey questioned herself. _

_She sighed loudly and let her head loll against her shoulder as she leaned her lower back against the outer most wall of the bathroom. She really needed to pee now, but there were at least three more toddlers dancing the pee-pee-dance ahead of her. "You **must** be tired. It's hard work rearranging the alphabet to **u** and **me** together." Jack concluded for her. _Take a hint, loser _Casey thought to herself without even nodding to acknowledge his pathetically jumbled pick up line. _

_"Man, the line is 'you must be tired since you've been running through my mind all day'. And the other one is **u **and **i**, not **u **and **me**." A sarcastic voice said from a few feet away. Casey straightened herself up to see nothing short of an angrily irritated expression dripping from Derek's face. "Can I help you, dude? I was having a lovely conversation with my lady friend over here." Jack informed him haughtily. His whole being tensed away from the unruffled character he had greeted Casey with while gesturing his hands around the plane as if he owned it and Derek was tromping all over his territory. Quelling a deep growl in his throat, Derek sucked in a heaving breath without even giving a moment's thought to why he was so upset. _

_The queue progressed as Casey watched the two with wide eyes and Derek shuffled a few steps closer to Jack than necessary. "Really? Your **lady friend**?" Derek mocked pointing to Casey. He gave a fluttering glace at her, their eyes locking for a brief moment before some kid stepped on her foot. Suppressing a yelp, Casey leaned against the wall again and brought her foot up to meet her hands, wanting to cradle it. _

_Normally he would have laughed at her but all Derek could feel was the unbridled rage directed at this Sam-wanna-be in front of him. Derek didn't mind getting rid of this one because he knew the world only needed one Sam. Otherwise, if there were two, they would both suck up all the stupidity and no one else would have any to use. "What's your problem, dude, she your girlfriend?" Jack asked apprehensively without tearing his stare from Derek's. "Stepsister." He ground out, watching a simper slither across Jack's mouth pompously. "So you got a **Cruel Intentions **thing going, Sebastian?" He leered. _

_"His name is Derek." Casey corrected stupidly and mentally kicked herself just as the words slipped out. Suddenly finding herself standing before an unoccupied bathroom door, Casey jetted in without a look behind her. Slipping into the bathroom and securely fastening the lock, she pressed a tentative ear against the cool metal and strained to catch bits of the two's exchange. She barely breathed, fearing that she would miss something, but couldn't help the deep swell that coursed through her chest as she thought of the fury in Derek's eyes._

_"Got something else to say, Derek?" Jack spat out. Derek's eyes blazed furiously. No one spoke to him like that. Except Casey…but that was different. "If I were you, I wouldn't be talking to her ever again." Derek warned, motioning to the closed door in front of them. "Consider yourself lucky that she's in the bathroom with her ear to the wall listening in, or you and me would have to settle this. Now." He finished menacingly before jerking his head in the opposite direction of the plane and waiting for Jack to take the hint. _

_"You and I." Casey corrected in a whisper inside the bathroom and pushed herself away from the door; feeling the cold of the metal leave her suddenly, her skin quickly heated all across her body at the thought of Derek. Looking at herself in the mirror, scuffed with age and dirtied from long flights, she found an explicable smile gracing her lips as her eyes twinkled pleasantly. Almost happily. Almost elatedly. _

**.:o:.**

Shaking his head, as if it physically rid himself of his thoughts, Derek jabbed a finger into the button again. His foot tapped against the ground as he impatiently willed the elevator to come faster when he realized that his stepsister and his new…_friend _were mouthing something to each other. Before Casey could finish whatever thought she was trying to get _Front Desk Girl _to process through her small bundle of brain cells, a soft ping rushed through Derek's ears. He tugged on the wrist he hadn't let go of and pulled her into the elevator behind him.

Casey sighed loudly and chewed her gum absently as a satisfied grin on her face that made Derek wonder what she had told _Front Desk Girl _but he didn't give it another moment of thought as he silently looked at the board of numbers, indicating each floor. Trying to remember where their rooms were, he heard Casey huff loudly. Derek watched her arm snaking past him as her finger flicked out to press _20 _before she retracted it inside her curled fist. He looked over at her, his renowned smirk finding its way across his face again as she crossed her arms across her chest irritably.

"You have no shame." She threw at him, watching the elevator's gold-plated doors slide shut while she played with the image of pushing him between them. She popped a bubble of gum inside her mouth as a smile crept across her lips at the thought. It quickly faded as Derek continued to fix her with a stare and a smirk. _That's all he needs in life _Casey thought to herself without any real purpose behind it. "Casey, Casey, Casey, _Casey_…" He started, chastising palpably sarcastic in his tone, but trailed off as he noticed her ticking off numbers on her fingers each time he opened his mouth. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Counting how many times you have to say my name before you can think of some way to insult me. However captivating and awe-inspiring your rendition of _Jessie's Girl, _where you conveniently slip and say _Sammie's Girl _every time, is, I think I speak for humanity when I say: please **don't** do it anymoreHow about a nice _Loch Ness Monster _jab? I think it's been at least two hours. Of course, you may not even remember _that _far back…"

Casey's gaze lofted towards the ceiling before she looked back at him, her face glowing. "How often do your two brain cells replenish themselves?" She asked him sweetly before throwing a scathing look in his general direction. He gave a dry _ha-ha-ha _laugh in return, shooting her a look of his own, before raking his hands through his hair. Feeling grains of sand meet his fingers and palms, he pulled them away to find hundreds of sparkling granules stuck to them.

**.:o:.**

_"Lizzie! Can you help me with this?" Casey's voice rang out, muffled through the wall of the bathroom, just as Derek had been slipping his sandals on to leave with the rest of the family. The plush carpet rebounded up after each of his steps and cradled his feet as he padded towards the door, sunlight continually streaming into the room and slightly blinding him. He stopped short as Casey came barging from the bathroom. The sun bathed every dip, curve, slope, valley, peak, arc, bend and bow of her body before his eyes. Her hands loosely held up the top of her bikini while her eyes searched out Lizzie. _

_Turning stiffly she faced Derek and nearly dropped the straps in surprise; but she quickly regained herself. It sent a lurch of disappointment through Derek but a sight for his eyes to drink in was still displayed before him. A pristinely white pair of boy shorts hugged at her hips snugly as the hem toyed at her hipbone. Derek suddenly felt his palms tingling with the need to rush his hands over her skin. The skin that looked so supple and so kissable. The deeply crimson top settled up just below her chest, leaving almost nothing to be desired of her thin frame. A wide buckle held each side of it together revealed a small patch of skin within the square of browned metal and created enough cleavage to make Derek's mouth go dry as he continued to stare. Her already sun soaked skin flooded his parched throat, making him gulp as his imagination ran wild with the thoughts of her brazened body beneath his. _

_Casey's self-conscious cough woke him from his daze as he eyes roamed her body once more before he met her eyes. "Uh, where's Lizzie?" She asked him, shifting from foot to foot impatiently as her arm began to throb from the constant elevation. "Already downstairs with everyone. They're just waiting for us." Derek informed her as he attempted to control his perpetually dropping jaw after every word, giving him a slightly stupid stutter. "Oh…" Casey murmured lightly as she tried to lower her arm but maintain a firm grasp on her top simultaneously. Derek watched her awkward dance as a smirk crept on his lips. _

_"Need help?" He asked lightly while his skin warmed at the idea of coming close. Casey eyed him suspiciously, subtlety checking to see if he had a cube of ice in his hands or something to the same effect. Her lips were poised to snap an immediate '**no' **but just as she parted them, her arm gave a painfully pulsating throb. She reclined on her feet in contemplation when he raised his empty palms in innocence as a small smile toyed on her lips in resolution. "Yeah, sure." She complied and reaffirmed her hold on the straps before turning her back and shuffling backwards to meet him. _

_Watching her back rise when she inhaled at the contact of his warm hands on her skin, he brushed her fingers away from the thick fabric that looped around her neck. Her arms suddenly fell down to her sides but swung back and forth lightly from the sudden movement and brushed against Derek's legs. Inhaling at the unexpected contact he swelled a deep breath before he grasped the straps more tightly. _

_His thumb tickled the small length of her neck, reveling in the feeling of her supplely soft skin against his coarsely calloused fingers while his other fingers spun a secure bow between the ties. "Double knot?" He breathed in her ear, not letting on to the hitch in his voice. Casey felt his hot breath splay across her skin, flaming it in an almost wonderful discomfort as she leaned in against his body. Feeling his torso mold easily into her back she let a breath hitch and fall from her parted lips. _

_"Please." She requested before she completely forgot what he had asked. His lips mouthed a simple 'sure' silently, though he knew she couldn't see, as he wrapped his fingers around the generous loops and tucked them together in a second knot tightly. He skirted his soft touch across the center of the bow, letting his thumb tumble over the fabric and onto her skin. He traced tickling lines along the length of her neck, drawing the lightest of moans from Casey's delighted lips. It reached his ears like a feather light kiss on his fiery skin as he suddenly longed to gently press his lip to the nape of her neck, just to know what her skin would feel like against him. _

_Casey knew that her top was securely in place but she remained motionless to feel his touch linger on her heated skin. As if he read her wishes, his fingers traced an intangible equator down the length of her back and they sent her down a hurtling precipice of sensations. He had only pushed his nails against her but soon his own skin burned with the need to feel her. He subtly flipped their positions and traced the pad of his fingers down her back and sighed at the softness. Catching himself, Derek flattened his hand wholly against her back and bent down. She breathed a soft moan as his lips came down against her ear again. "Say thank you." He demanded softly with a deep smirk even in his voice. _

_Just as she opened her mouth to murmur her gratitude she felt common sense knocking back into her brain as she numbly moved her limbs away from him. Feeling himself disappointed at the loss of contact, he looked at Casey with expectant eyes. "Why? You didn't do anything special." She threw back, turning away from him as she bent over to pick up her pair of shorts. Derek stood completely still in an aftershock, but not forgetting to relish in his opportune view._

**.:o:.**

H shook his head while the rest of the sand fell to the ground and heard to sprinkle to the ground softly, like light petals of soft tumbling to the ground during white winters. He limply slumped against one of the walls; maintaining his cool demeanor as specks of persistent sand scratched at his skin beneath his shirt. Even as he inconspicuously shifted his collar away from his skin, the sand continued to scratch at him. Feeling her eyes on him once again, he fixed a smirk firmly on his lips and made a move to pull the shirt off from his shoulders. Sneaking glances at her, he watched her eyes widen as he exposed snatches of his hard earned abs. He had done so many strength-training exercises to make captain that it had made his coach's head spin.

Just as Derek was about to shrug his shirt off his shoulders, her voice abruptly stopped him in the awkward position. "Don't." She demanded, hints of pleading laced in her voice.

**.:o:. **

"Where are they Lizzie?" Nora called through the adjoining door, stepping into the kid's room. "Not back yet." She replied simply, turning back the shells she had collected at the beach earlier. "Lizzie! Look what I found!" Edwin called urgently from the bathroom. "**Too** much information, Edwin." She called back, her voice slightly tentative with fright and disgust. "Come here!" He called more persistently. Lizzie looked at her mother in an appalled daze. "Can't you take care of it? By yourself? _Alone_?" She shouted back, wanting nothing more than to stay exactly where she was without her mind wandering to dangerous places. "Not _that_." He said exasperatedly, running from the sink in the alcove by the bathroom and out into the large room, skidding on the carpet in his bare feet. "There's a crab in one of my shells!" He exclaimed excitedly as Lizzie shot up from her chair and raced to the bathroom to join him.

**.:o:.**

Letting the soft cotton slip from his fingertips and back over his torso, he looked back her with an infuriating smirk. "Don't _what_, Case?" He drawled out lazily.

"Keep your clothes on." She snapped while images of his sun soaked chest danced in front of her eyes.

"As you wish, _sis._" He threw back, assuring her suspicions that his face would be permanently glued with a simper.

"Your smirk is unappealing. Do you realize that?" She asked him in all seriousness. Taking him by surprise for a moment, his face slacked before he schooled it back precisely to its former position. "Is it really, Case?" He asked, addressing her with a sneer.

"Yes, actually," she started haughtily, "it's leering. And no one can see your teeth; making the question of '_Does he even have any teeth?' _spring to mind."

"I don't think that's what girls are asking themselves when they meet me." He retorted, slouching even farther against the wall.

"Whatever." Casey muttered, thoroughly irritated, while she willed the elevator to speed up and crossed her arms over her chest petulantly.

Flashing a glance at the board, she saw they had more than fifteen more floors to ascend before she could escape his overbearing presence. "Can't stand me?" He asked lightly, after catching the direction of her glance, while inspecting the calluses on his hands casually. She looked him sharply, contemplating her next words carefully. She remembered his pity inspiring speech during that party while every other moment of his insufferable disposition flashed through her mind. The two sides battled out, countering each other until she grew too tired of the debate and opted to stay silent. Hunching over tiredly, she felt her body lag tiredly as she parted her lips to sigh.

Instead of a response, Derek heard her sigh loudly. He looked up from his hands just as she pulled her hair from the ponytail she had hastily slopped it in earlier. Derek watched her long hair, now adorned with humid curls that made his stomach lurch each time one fell against her skin, undulate against her bare shoulders as it swept and cascaded gracefully. Feeling himself stare without being able to tear his gaze, a longing to run his hands through her hair dreamily swept through him. As she heaved a small huff again, he felt it rush through his system; it rippled down his spine, and pleasantly crashed warm waves through his limbs. The sound of her small sigh settled a calm over him despite the mounting heat of his blood.

"Can I ask you something Casey?" She glared at him, wary to his request while possibilities jogged through her imagination, each more improbable than its predecessor. "What?" She asked apprehensively and tucked a wave of hair behind an ear.

Turning his attention to her trained look of annoyance he watched as a slight worry flashed in her darkened eyes; to his surprise she didn't hide it. And it remained to stare at him in the face. Maybe she didn't notice it. Maybe she knew it unnerved him. Maybe she simply didn't care. Slowly sucking in a breath of air as the silence persisted, the ball rebounding his court, he watched her chest rise and fall dramatically. "Ever had a real kiss?" He asked almost distractedly; his eyes roamed her seething form, before slipping his gaze upwards to watch her face slowly turn an enraged shade of red while a twisted sense of satisfaction settled over him. She should already know that he derived the utmost pleasure in her annoyance.

"I know that you have a problem that I'm with Sam. Like I'm stealing your best friend, or whatever your warped mind comes up with against me, but out right rejecting our relationship is just blatant deni-"

"I never said you _weren't_ together." He interrupted smoothly; his deep voice was hushed.

"No, you just asked me if-"

"I asked you, if you ever had a _real_ kiss." He butted in again, cutting her off short. She looked at him for a long moment, their eyes locked into place as an icy stare melted and a chilled stare heated. He paced towards her, until there wasn't there wasn't a trace of an inch between them. He leaned into her, feeling her body flush against his and making his blood scorch with the heat of a thousands suns inside his veins. Her chest rose and fell against his own, setting the skin beneath his moist t-shirt aflame as he timed his breathing along with her rhythmic beat. Together, inhaling and exhaling, Derek watched her lips quiver, the soft pinkness enticing him to capture them with a returning vengeance.

Casey watched with wide eyes as he leaned closer, he lips so close that she could imagine them against hers. She envisaged his smirk pressed against her mouth with rapture, suddenly longing to feel his lips parted against hers and his tongue sweeping against her skin. But with a sudden start, she pushed him off and stared down at the floor. "Every time I'm with Sam." She responded sharply with an unparalleled quickness.

Of course she had had a real kiss. Who was he to ask that? Who was he to insinuate that she wasn't happy? Of course she was happy with Sam. Much happier than she would be with anyone else. She mentally let out an enormous sigh of frustration with her thoughts carried on. She suddenly felt gum inside her mouth, feeling it roll against her tongue. She took it between her teeth ferociously and bit at it viciously, turning her thoughts over and over inside her head until they mingled and blended together without sense.

_The lady doth protest too much methinks _Casey couldn't help but think, but irately shut herself up while inwardly cursing Hamlet a thousand times over.

His body went cold as he stepped a few feet away from her, only wanting to regain their impenetrable distance from seconds ago. "Even with that stupid hat?" Derek mumbled indignantly to himself, not understanding the knot that twisted in his stomach that was full of unmistakable jealousy.


End file.
